Ron Prosor, Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, made the clarification at the UN headquarters as the Security Council is holding an emergency meeting on the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine.

"There's no kidnapped Israeli soldier and those rumors are untrue," he told reporters here.

Earlier on Sunday Hamas' armed wing Qassam Brigades announced that they had kidnapped an Israeli soldier and hold him captive in Gaza. They identified the soldier as Shaul Aron and his military number as 6092065, saying that they succeeded in kidnapping him during an ambush in Attufah neighborhood in Gaza city.

Hamas made the claim four days after Israel launched a ground operation into Gaza to end rocket fire. Israel's military operation has resulted in the deaths of more than 450 Palestinians and the injury of some 3040 others in Gaza. One Israeli citizen and 13 soldiers have also been killed Women's Nike M2K Tekno White Pure Platinum Clearance , while 65 others injured.

The Security Council is holding an emergency meeting Sunday night on the worsening situation in Gaza. Diplomats said the meeting was requested by council member Jordan, as regional leaders met in Doha for urgent talks on a ceasefire.

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"Kidnapped" Israeli soldier among 13 dead earlier: source

JERUSALEMGAZA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday evening refused to comment on Hamas' claim of having kidnapped an Israeli soldier, but a military source told Xinhua that the "kidnapped" was among the 13 Israeli soldier who died in earlier clashes with militants.

A Hamas spokesperson said on Sunday that they had "captured a Zionist soldier," releasing a photograph with his name and military ID number. The IDF later said they are looking into the report and cannot confirm nor deny it so far.？？Full story

Abbas urges for UN emergency session on Gaza

RAMALLAH Women's Nike Shox OZ 801 Black Pink Clearance , July 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday called on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session to discuss Israel's ongoing large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip.

"The failure of the Security Council to make a decision on ending the Israeli aggression and the massacres against our people doesn't relieve it from its responsibility in accordance to the international law," Abbas said in a televised speech. "Therefore, I'm calling on the Security Council to hold another emergency session tonight."？Full story

Bloodiest day sees Gaza death toll pass 100

GAZAJERUSALEM, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Gaza Strip witnessed the bloodiest day on Sunday since Israel launched its offensive there nearly two weeks ago, as the death toll passed 100 in a single day after Israeli artillery bombing on the most densely populated neighborhood of Sheja'eya in eastern Gaza city.

Survivals from the stricken area Women's Nike Shox OZ D Peach Black Clearance , which is less than two km from the borders with Israel, said right after they had their Ramadan breakfast on Saturday evening, tank shells showered the neighborhood. Smell of gunpowder mixed with blood overwhelmed the narrow alleys and roads, where bodies of dead women and children were laying on the ground, according to witnesses.？

The 23-year-old Bojan, coming up through the Barca academy before two years spell in Roma, inked a four-year contract with an undisclosed fee with Stoke who finish ninth last season in Premier League.

Bojan returned to Barcelona in 2013 after two lackluster seasons in Italy and spent the last season on loan in Dutch giants Ajax Nike Shox Gravity Men's Black Green Clearance , helping the side to win a record 33rd Eredivisie title.

"He's desperate to prove himself in the Premier League and we're pleased to be able to offer him that platform," Stoke boss Mark Hughes said in the club's website.

by Xinhua writer Zhang Jianhua

LONDON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The study of China is still too marginalized and politicized in Europe, with some western scholars facing the risk of lagging behind the real developments in China due to inadequate language skills and outdated sources of information, two British experts have warned.

"China is becoming increasingly important to our economic and political future Nike Shox Gravity Metallic Gold Grey Men's Clearance , and yet the study of China is still too marginalized within universities," said Kerry Brown, an associate fellow on the Asia Program at leading British think tank Chatham House, in an email interview with Xinhua.

Noting that the status of Chinese studies is not high enough, he stressed the need "to make the study of aspects of China more part of the mainstream in our schools and universities" while speaking at an international conference on Chinese studies held in Copenhagen in mid-June.

"We were over reliant on buying in expertise Men's Nike Shox Gravity Gunsmoke Grey Clearance , mostly from Chinese scholars and students based here, because of a lack of our own language skills," added Brown, who is also a professor of Chinese politics and executive director of the China Studies Center at the University of Sydney.

He called for more efforts "to produce a new generation of experts within Europe."

Brown's concerns over the lack of language abilities in western academia of Chinese studies were shared by Zhengxu Wang, associate professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham Men's Nike Shox Avenue 802 Black Silver Clearance , who is also deputy director of the university's China Policy Institute.

Wang said in an email interview with Xinhua that Britain's real interest in Chinese studies intensified toward the late 1990s "as China's rise become much clearer," with researches and teaching on China's economy, politics, and international relations expanding rapidly.